Noise Pop 2010 Wrap-up: John Vanderslice Protesters?

Noise Pop 2010 went off with a bang last week. They did it up right with amazing bands, dynamic performances, epic lineups, Yoko Ono, happy hours galore, face paint, faux mustaches, and…John Vanderslice protesters?

John Vanderslice protesters

On Friday, February 26th, the sidewalk in front of 2170 Market Street was packed. People were milling about waiting to see either Nurses, Conspiracy of Venus, Honeycomb, and John Vanderslice upstairs at the Swedish American Hall, or the Ferocious Few, Sonny and the Sunsets, the Growlers, and the Mumlers downstairs at Cafe Du Nord. Everyone was mingling, getting excited to see their respective shows, meeting up with old friends and making new ones, generally having a jolly time. Except for one group, who showed up to ruin the fun, or so they thought.

John Vanderslice protesters? Or attention-seekers with too much time (and tape) on their hands?

The group, who had some “3rd party conflict over space usage” with John Vanderslice, announced on Pirate Radio that morning that they would be protesting his Noise Pop show. The source of their ire was unclear, but they said that his last name is so great that they’ve adopted “Damn You Vanderslice!” as their preferred curse for whenever something goes wrong. For this feeble protest, which sounds like more of a compliment than anything else, they donned trash bags and held banners that declared nonsensical slogans like “Beef Against Vanderslice,” “Puppies or V-Slice,” and “Grandmas say no 2 J. V-Slice!”

“Finally I have my own protesters!” John Vanderslice tweeted.

But contrary to their ridiculous slogans, John Vanderslice is, simply put, one of the friendliest and warmest people you’ll ever meet. He merely smiled, took their picture, posed with them, and tweeted “Finally I have my own protesters!” This, much to the chagrin of his so-called nemeses, broke the spell of the rapt sidewalk audience. The navel-gazing protesters were asked to vacate the premises, allowing the rest of us to get back to the business of great music.